Batman: The Brave and The Bold

The Plot: The game actually focuses on four different episodic plots than having one in general. They’re all tied to who Batman’s sidekick of the day is. The intro level focuses on the classic duo of Batman and Robin in the myst of a jewel robbery. The level after that has Batman teaming with Blue Beetle as they go and take out Gorilla Grodd. Third episode has Batman and his idol, Hawkman, go take down Gentleman Ghost. The fourth and final episode of the game has Batman and Guy Gardener teaming up to take down Mongul.

The Good: In retrospect, the ol’ 2D beat-em-ups of the past are long gone and have always been a respected thing of the past. That doesn’t mean Brave and The Bold can’t succeed in this aspect. The game flows beautifully, with simplified 3D environments that fit the show’s style of look rather than going for something out of place. Then again, with a show like Batman: The Brave and The Bold, anything is hard to look out of place.

Using the wiimote-nunchuck combo to play, players will get to explore the beautiful rendered art of the animations done ever so perfectly and true to the artwork seen on the original TV cartoon. Batman and his allies (along with the enemies) are greatly well-done in animation, not to mention the backdrops can also give those who love good looks something to distract them with. Probably the most beautiful scenery that I’ve seen is during the fourth episode. While I can’t exactly say what, since it’d be a spoiler for the episode in particular, but the beautiful mountainsides are ones to be looking in awe at.

Speaking of the controls, they play rather smoothly for a 2D beat-em-up game. You use the control stick to move left or right, C blocks, Z uses whatever gadget you have selected, the d-pad switches gadgets, A punches, B jumps, 1 button summons a stand-in hero that wipes out any character on-screen, etc. Holding the control stick a certain way makes the character you control perform a different action. Say you wanna knock a thug in the air with an uppercut. Hold the control stick up while pushing A does this trick nicely, while you can follow it up by jumping and pushing A in the air for an air combo. The controls are simplified but not so much so that even the everyday button masher will get anything accomplished. Even if you do die, the only consequence you receive is a deduction on the currency you get in-game, and you’ll soon immediately respawn in the exact same place you died (unless it was a pit you fell in, then you’ll respawn at the place you started jumping from platforms).

Both the four plots and voice work are straight from the show itself (even though the plots aren’t redone episodes, thankfully), so don’t expect anything taken out of contrast. All the Nicely done quirks of the show (like character speech and interaction) are perfectly done and done so in a way that the game becomes more enjoyable in more ways than one. I found it always nice to hear Batman speak in this show, as his voice was pretty awesome.

The Bad: Being that the game focuses on multiplayer, playing by yourself, you’ll soon find out that the AI controlling player 2 is a bit of a dimwit no matter who it controls. You’ll be seeing your AI partner get stuck in a place where you need to roll instead of jump, and you’ll also be seeing your partner get his butt kicked by every goon on-screen if he’s all alone. Not to mention that the AI apparently has poor platforming skills, as he can’t even make a single jump without falling into either lava, acid, electricity, or even polluted water. Thankfully, the death of your partner is given no burden on your part, and you can freely ignore them without consequence.

Though my biggest gripe was during a segment in Blue Beetle’s stage where the two are separated with spikes coming down toward them. In order to progress, BOTH characters must defeat the goons that are with them at the time. Any normal player would be able to do this no problem, but due to the incompetence of the AI, I was the one paying the penalty for its failure to defeat the goons and having spikes kill us both immediately. Wayforward, there’s a difference between competent AI and retardation AI, and something tells me you chose the latter for this game. Batman also suffers for the exact reason beat-em-ups became stale real quick: Repetition. Every stage is literally the same thing, but given a Batman-exclusive gimmick to use. It’d be nice if there was some kind of variety to change the flow of the game every now and then, like Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions with its first-person perspectives during bosses. But sadly, even the bosses feel like repeated actions time and again. It makes one realize the exact reason why beat-em-ups are rarely seen anymore.

One more thing. While I WOULD say it’s a little challenging, that wouldn’t be saying much. The game won’t last long as it’s rather on the short side. Not to mention the game itself isn’t very challenging for even the least experienced player. Depending on how fast you can get through certain parts, I would say the game would last you at least a good couple of hours or so before you beat the game. Rather disappointing, as I’m almost certain that this game could’ve held so much more than a mere four episodes.

Extras: Once you beat the game, you can enter this game’s survival mode, simply titled “Bat-Mite’s Challenge”, where you have to survive round after round of goons and take them out with a two minute time limit.

You can also gain extra equipment for Batman, such as brass knuckles (that lets him punch a ghost), smoke bombs, and a laser sword. Doesn’t really do much but make the game easier than it is.

Final say: Batman and comic book fans alike will frolic to this game like carnivores, but at least it’s for a good reason. This game is definitely one of the best 2D beat-em-ups I’ve played on the Wii, though I just wish it were longer so that it’d be a justifiable purchase.